VOA慢速英语 埃塞俄比亚科学家获世界粮食奖

　　In the early nineteen eighties, Professor Ejeta developed the first sorghum hybrid seeds. These resisted drought and led to a major increase in production.

　　Drought is not the only enemy. Striga is a parasitic weed that Africans commonly call witchweed. The plant attacks sorghum and other crops and steals water and nutrients from the roots.

　　In the nineteen nineties, Gebisa Ejeta and another Purdue researcher, Larry Butler, identified the complex relationships between Striga and sorghum plants. That finding led to the development of seeds resistant to both Striga and drought.

　　Gebisa Ejeta was raised in a one-room hut in a rural village in west-central Ethiopia. His mother wanted him to get an education. He walked twenty kilometers to school in a neighboring town. He left home on Sunday nights and returned on Friday.

　　For secondary school, he attended an agricultural and technical school. It was established by Oklahoma State University under an American government program. From there he received an invitation to study at Purdue, where he earned a doctoral degree.